Miss Black Ohio Speaks About the STARS in Dayton, Ohio

On Thursday I had the opportunity to speak with the young women of the STARS organization at Wright Pat Air Force base's Chapel 3. It was a WONDERFUL experience. I have to admit that I was a little nervous going into the event since it was my first guest speaking venture as Miss Black Ohio, but my nerves quickly turned to excitement once I met the young women.

The girls were 6th-12th graders who's family are members of Chapel 3. They are a part of a youth program called STARS that was named after 5 very important women in the bible. These girls meet every week to talk about Christ and how he relates to events in their lives. At their last meeting they spoke about the importance of self image, especially when it comes to social networking!
I was truly blessed to speak to these girls and tell them about my journey. I was able to share some things about myself and encourage them to fight for their dreams.

Going into my first event I questioned how well I would be received and how much of what I was saying would be taken in by the girls, and I am pleased to say that throughout the discussion I truly felt like they were attentive and interested in what was being said.

I must say that my favorite part of the event was the very beginning. I got to ask each girl "what is one thing you love about yourself." For me this was a VERY important question, simply because at their age it would have been extremely difficult for me to give an honest answer. I can tell already that is going to be one of my favorite parts of my entire year. Being able to hear young people praise themselves is truly a blessing. I truly believe that once you can find the things that YOU love about YOU there is nothing that can stand in your way. Having confidence in your own abilities and loving yourself is an important key to success!